Van Gisbergen and Tander to carry #888 for Bathurst defence
The iconic #888 will be on the grid after all in Bathurst, with Shane van Gisbergen and Garth Tander to campaign the number this weekend.
Van Gisbergen and Tander will assume Triple Eight's iconic number in homage of outgoing Managing Director and Team Principal Roland Dane.
It marks the first time since 2012 that van Gisbergen will race with a number other than his traditional #97.
Van Gisbergen, the 2021 champion-elect, won 14 races and secured the 2021 drivers' title with the #97.
He began racing with the number in Supercars in 2013 when he moved to Tekno Autosports, and retained it when he shifted to Triple Eight in 2016.
Van Gisbergen won his first drivers' title with the #97 in 2016; it was the first instance that a car with the #97 had won an ATCC/Supercars title.
Triple Eight Race Engineering, which made its debut in 2003, has campaigned the #888 at every Great Race between 2004 and 2020.
That tradition appeared set to end in 2021; the team honoured the retiring Jamie Whincup by allowing him to race with his traditional #88 this weekend.
Van Gisbergen and Tander, who combined to win the 2020 race, appeared set to carry on with the #97.
However, a last-minute change ensures the #888 will be on the Great Race grid.
The #888 is the second most successful number in Great race history with six wins, only behind the #1.
Whincup and Craig Lowndes won three straight Great Races between 2006 and 2008 with the #888 on the window.
Lowndes added wins with Mark Skaife (2010) and Steven Richards (2015 and 2018) with the number.
Van Gisbergen and Tander won the team's eighth Great Race last year; Whincup and Paul Dumbrell raced the #1 to victory in 2012.
Triple Eight has carried the #888 to six Bathurst wins
The announcement comes just hours after van Gisbergen and Tander accepted their 2020 winners' plaques.
Cars will hit the track on Thursday for Practice 1 at 10:00am AEDT. Click here to view the track schedule.
Every session of the event will be broadcast live on Foxtel (Fox Sports 503) and streamed on Kayo.
The Seven Network will provide live free to air coverage of the event. Tickets for the event are on sale now.
